The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for assembling a multiple component article such as a multiple component optical fiber connector and an inspection system for inspecting such multiple component articles.
Multiple component optical fiber connectors are extremely important to make critical mechanical connections between the free ends of optical fibers. More and more systems are using fiber optic technologies to increase computing power, data transmission volume and speed as well as numerous other applications. It is important that the connectors securely retain the connection between the two pieces of optical fiber. A variety of connectors have been developed to provide such connection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,044 to Egner et al., issued Dec. 17, 1991, to the Assignee of the present invention, shows an optical fiber connector having a right angle strain relief.
The general design of the Egner device is typical for optical fiber connectors. Such a connector includes an elongated body, a coupling nut, biasing means and a retaining ring. The coupling nut and biasing means are axially arranged on the elongated body and retained in position by the retaining ring. The biasing means acts against the coupling nut to provide a secure engagement with the other coupling component with which it is connected.
Typically, the retaining rings are a C-ring having an open gap along one side for radial attachment to the elongated body. The C-ring is mated with an annular groove formed on an outside surface of the elongated body. Further, these C-rings are manually attached to the elongated body adding delay and cost to the connector assembly process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,455 to Palecek, issued Jun. 9, 1992, explicitly shows a C-ring used to retain a coupling nut and spring on the elongated body of an optical fiber connector.
As the demand for fiber optic technology increases so does the demand for connections between optical fibers. In order to satisfy the demand for optical fiber connectors, it is preferable to automate the assembly process for assembling optical fiber connectors. As with many other automated processes, problems arise with the efficient processing of numerous components during the assembly process as well as the most efficient organization and layout of the process apparatus. It is also important to automate the inspection process where possible so that the production throughput is maintained and bottlenecks, which might be caused by manual inspection, are eliminated.